G Kamalini, Vaishnavi Sharma earn maiden callup for Sri Lanka T20Is

Young wicketkeeper-batter G Kamalini and 19-year-old left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma have been handed their maiden callup as the BCCI announced the 15-member squad for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka at home.

Both Kamalini and Vaishnavi were part of the Indian squad that played in the Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup earlier this year in Malaysia. Their performances in the tournament also earned them a spot in the team of the tournament.

Kamalini, who made her WPL debut with Mumbai Indians earlier this year, has been picked as the backup 'keeper ahead of Yastika Bhatia who is undergoing rehab for ACL injury she suffered ahead of the 2025 ODI World Cup.

Vaishanvi, meanwhile, was the highest wicket-taker in the Sr. Women's T20 Trophy with 21 scalps in 11 matches at an economy of 4.5 for runners-up Madhya Pradesh.

Shafali Verma, who came into the ODI squad as a replacement ahead of the World Cup semifinal, holds on to her place after dominating show in the domestic season. From the squad that featured in India's last T20I assignment in England, Sayali Satghare, Radha Yadav and Shuchi Upadhyay miss out. Renuka Thakur returns whereas the likes of Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud and Sree Charani retain their spots.

This will be India's first assignment ever since they won their maiden Women's World title last month. The series kicks off on December 21 in Visakhapatnam and the city will also play host to the second T20I before the teams travel to Thiruvananthapuram for the final-three matches.

Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Renuka Singh Thakur, Richa Ghosh (WK), G Kamalini (WK), Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma